Tough days for pubs in the Ribble Valley

* Edit - Jan 2011 - At the time of writing, The Freemason's Arms, The Castle, and The Edisford Bridge have all re-opened and are hopefully doing well. I'll keep this post as a historical record of how the 2009 recession hit pubs hard.

It's my sad duty to re-start the blog with some pretty dismal news about pub closures in the Ribble Valley. The Craven Heiffer in Chaigley, The Freemasons Arms at Wiswell, The Castle at Clitheroe, The Bridge Inn Clitheroe, and the Edisford Bridge also in Clitheroe are all currently shut.

I'm particularly saddened by the closure of the Craven Heiffer as it had quickly become my favourite place to eat in the Ribble Valley. The food there was exceptional and it always felt like you were visiting old friends when you popped in.
The Freemasons had also turned a corner. My review on this blog criticized the unfriendly owners, but it was sold on to new proprietors who had turned it into a much more welcoming pub.
The Castle & the Edisford Bridge appear to be the victims of PubCos - venture capitalist funded companies who buy up pubs and milk them for all they are worth. Pub managers are often bullied and charged exorbitant rents and costs. These managers don't last long, hence all the signs you see about saying "You can run THIS pub!" If you see such a sign, just keep walking.
Anyway, the reasons for pubs going under are many - the smoking ban, the wider economy, the rise in home-drinking, PubCos etc etc; so all I can say is support your local pub. Instead of downing a bottle of red at home, go out and have a couple of pints of good real ale in a pub that knows how to serve it. Your money will have helped keep a real British institution open rather than have it go into the ether that is the big supermarkets' overflowing bank accounts.